Eternal Love II
by CeCeB
Summary: Part II to Eternal Love. They finally got their happy endings but what happens when their happy endings are threatened and what will it take to stop the ones behind it? Once again, Emma has to save her family from a horrid curse and this time her mom isn't by her side... More appearances from other shows and movies...
1. UN-Happily Ever After

_Here's a refresher of some of the characters from Part 1._

 _Astrea = Lily_

 _Baelfire = Henry_

 _Regina & Robin's son – Henry_

 _Snow & David's son – Emery_

 _Rumple & Belle's daughter – Jane_

 _Rumple is Regina's father_

 _Pinocchio & Andalasia's son and daughter – Salem & Haven_

 _Keep in mind, this is an Emma who grew up knowing the truth and was raised by her mother._

* * *

Unhappily Ever After

POOF.

A tree burst open in the middle of a forest on the brink of autumn. Thirty-two year old Emma climbed out in a pretty yet simple white dress with a brown leather book titled, _Tales from Other Lands._ Her eyes were red and puffy from all the crying she'd done earlier. A few moments later, fourteen year old Baelfire came through the tree with two leather books similar to the one Emma was holding. He wore an outfit from the Enchanted Forest that was about as close as you can get to something someone would wear in the land without magic because that's where they were. They were back.

"Bae!" Emma exclaimed. She hugged him. Her emotions were all over the place but she was trying to stay strong for Bae. She was glad she wasn't in it alone though.

They walked over to the nearby diner where there was a lot full of cars that Bae was sort of fascinated by. He'd never seen any before. Emma actually wished she could steal one but although she knew a little about banditry, it's not something she ever really had to dabble in. She certainly didn't know anything about stealing a car. She missed Neal, she really needed him right now, not just to steal a car. Didn't matter, she couldn't drive anyway. Why didn't she ever learn how to drive? Stealing is wrong and she has to be a role model for Bae. This will definitely be the hardest time to be a parent.

"You know, this is where I was born." Emma said.

"Really? Here?" Bae questioned as he gazed at the diner.

They walked into the diner, trying to figure out how the hell they would get to New York. They sat at a table and a waitress came over.

"May I take your order?" The waitress asked.

"Two cheeseburgers and fries please and two Cokes. Thanks." The waitress took Emma's order and walked away. "Thought you should try something you could never dream of back home. Good thing I magically created some money before we left. This world often places more value on a piece of paper than the soul of a human being."

"You sound so fond of it." Bae joked.

"Well every world has its good and bad."

"What are we going to do?"

"We're going to finish this meal, then we'll call a cab to the train station and catch the train to New York. Some of that may be a little foreign to you but first thing's first, I need a phone to call Astrea."

Emma asked to use a phone, she thought it was strange that they thought it was strange that she asked to use a phone. Emma was long gone from this world when the cell phone era went to the next level. She called information to get Astrea's number and let her know that she was coming. They left after they ate. That was an exotic meal for Bae and Emma couldn't believe how much she missed a simple cheeseburger.

-v-

 _Enchanted Forest - A few days ago…_

 _Emma, Neal, Snow, David, Regina and Robin were having wine as they rejoiced in each other's company. It was really a typical night. Once all the children were in bed and the kingdom was quiet, they would take the night to just stop and smell the roses, sometimes literally. That generally was never interrupted unless one of the children awoke from a nightmare or something but this night was different._

 _Rumplestiltskin barged in._

" _Papa, what's going on? Is everything alright?" Neal asked._

" _No. Another curse is coming." Rumple informed._

" _What? How is that possible? Who will cast it?" Regina inquired._

" _Cora." Rumple stated leaving everyone in shock, hearts on the floor._

-v-

New York – Present

Astrea lived in an apartment in Manhattan now. It was nice to see her old friend. When they got there, Maleficent was visiting too. That was even better. Bae needed to use the bathroom immediately.

"What are you doing back here?" Astrea asked.

"Another curse has been cast. I had to come so that I can break it but breaking it isn't quite the problem. It's defeating the one who cast it." Emma explained.

"Regina?" Maleficent questioned.

"No. She's come so far from who she was you would barely recognize her. My mom even calls her mom now. We're all very close… It was Cora." Emma replied.

"Cora? Are you sure? She's powerful but is she powerful enough to do that? In that case, why didn't Rumplestiltskin just get her to cast the first curse instead of waiting forty-four years for Regina to do it?" Maleficent asked.

"… Good question." Emma said.

"Maybe she's not working alone." Maleficent pointed out.

"But Cora was banished to this world for ten years. Who would or could help her?" Emma asked.

"Hmm… Well there were a couple witches here who maybe wanted to get home or get revenge or something. Ursula and Cruella. If Cora was banished here, how did she get back there?" Maleficent inquired.

"Looks like she found the wishing well portal because we so stupidly forgot to close it." Emma said angered by the thought. "I can't deal with this. To have your happy ending then have someone rip it right from under you, now that's the worst curse imaginable." Emma tightened her fists. The lights began to flicker.

"Emma!" Astrea exclaimed.

She calmed down. "Whoa. Better get that under control, huh? I mean, I thought I did but apparently not… Mal, can you help me?"

"Sure." Maleficent replied.

"I couldn't do this on my own. I don't even know if I can do it now. I didn't figure out all this the first time. My mom and brother did. I was too busy getting knocked up and sneaking into amusement parks. I was just present when they needed me."

"Stop. You don't give yourself enough credit. You can do this and you're not alone." Astrea tried to comfort her friend.

Emma took a deep breath and tried not to cry. She had to keep it together for Bae. She couldn't understand how her mom kept this up for eighteen years. "I just didn't see this coming. You know I've never gone a day without my mom, nor have I spent this much time away from Neal. I never wanted to go another day without my dad. Our kids… I have never missed a day of their lives. Family means so much to me. They are my happy ending and I just don't know how to function without them." Astrea embraced her. "I'll get it together. Now I really know what my mom was feeling for all those years. Everyone is depending on me and I won't let them down. Hell, I won't let me down."

-v-

 _Enchanted Forest – A Few Days Ago_

 _The royals called a meeting at the round table with the knights, the dwarfs, Granny, Red, Lilo and The Blue Fairy. They couldn't believe they were going through this again._

" _We have no time to prepare for this." David stated as he stood leading the meeting._

" _You're right –" The Blue Fairy started._

" _Wait." Snow stopped her. "Why should we trust you?" She asked calmly but sternly as she leaned back in her chair. Everyone was a little shocked._

" _Excuse me?" Blue was caught off guard._

" _Why should we trust anything you say?" Snow repeated. "Seems like you hurt just as much as you help. You certainly lie more than a fairy should. For instance, 'The wardrobe only takes one,' remember? Let's not forget, I had a few conversations with a certain ex-fairy."_

" _What are you implying?" Blue asked._

" _Simply that I don't trust you. You're dismissed."_

 _Silence. Awkward. You don't expect that from Snow. Regina sure. Snow never._

" _Well then..." Regina broke the silence. "Clearly, we need a game plan to defeat my mother. Loving her to death won't work and we can't just kill her so we need to figure out what her agenda is. I don't know if we can do that before this curse happens. Getting back here afterward is going to be another problem. Meanwhile, we need to make the kingdom aware."_

-v-

New York – Present

Bae had gone to bed while Emma, Astrea and Mal were up eating ice cream and watching TV.

"I must say, I miss TV." Emma said.

"Your mom barely let you watch." Astrea said.

"I know! Still, the little I got to see I loved. I loved _Sabrina, The Teenaged Witch_ and _Clueless_." Emma said then Astrea pulled out an Ipad. Emma's eyes widened. "What kind of sorcery?" Astrea explained what it was and handed it to her. "Freaky. I have to take one home."

"So Em, you never had any more children?" Astrea asked.

"Yeah. I have two more. Girls, Hope, she's nine now and a few years ago we adopted Nara. She's five."

"So how did Bae end up being the lucky winner to escape the curse?" Astrea asked.

-v-

 _Enchanted Forest - A Few Days Ago_

 _The royals were deciding how they needed to handle the coming curse and Emma already started the waterworks._

" _I can't go through this again. This is supposed to be over. I can't do it alone." Emma cried._

" _The wardrobe still takes two." Snow pointed out._

" _I'll be with you every step of the way. We will figure it out and save our family together." Neal said as he embraced her._

" _I'm sure that'd be ideal but that can't happen. Bae has to go. Remember what The Apprentice said, we have to protect him. If my mother finds out the power he holds or that he's now the author he will be in serious danger." Regina said._

" _You're right. I don't want Hope or Nara to feel like he's favored because he's the truest believer." Emma said._

" _They know you love them. We all have to stay behind. They'll be fine. We will all be fine." Neal assured and kissed his wife's forehead._

-v-

New York – Present

Emma went to bed for her first night back in the land of no magic and stroked her son's hair as she lied next to him in Astrea's guest room. He was the only piece of home she had right now. She stared at the ceiling for a while before she fell asleep but woke up in the middle of the night. It was like a light flipped on in her dreams. She turned on the lamp next to the bed and grabbed the book, _Tales from Other Lands._ She read a few chapters that took place in this particular land which helped her figure out what she needed to do.

The next morning, Emma and Bae met Astrea in the kitchen drinking hot cocoa.

"Good morning. I'm drinking hot cocoa. Want some?" Astrea offered.

"Sure! Do you have cinnamon?" Emma asked.

"Sure do!" Astrea prepared it for them. "Sorry guys, I would've made breakfast but I'm not much of a cook, however, my mom is bringing IHOP."

"IHOP?" Baelfire questioned.

"It's a restaurant that sells breakfast." Emma informed.

"What do you think of this world so far Bae?" Astrea asked.

"It's interesting. So far I'm in love with the food and the bathrooms. The bathrooms are cool." Bae replied.

"Oh the simple things. You have to see a good movie today. My mom said the first movie she ever saw was _Snow White and the Seven Dwarves_. She was totally insulted of course." Emma laughed but that ended quickly. She missed her mom.

Maleficent came in with breakfast.

"Who's hungry?" Maleficent exclaimed and laid it all out to dig in. There were pancakes, scrambled eggs, omelets and hash browns. No meat since Maleficent and Astrea were vegetarians. Mal was the fairy of the animals and Astrea was a veterinarian so of course they were against eating animals. They gathered around the table and enjoyed every bit of it.

"So I have an idea. There's magic in this world, it's just hidden and not very common. That said, there are three sister witches, the most powerful to ever live in this realm. They're called The Charmed Ones. They live in San Francisco. I'm powerful, yes but they can help me figure out how to use my powers here and help me defeat the evil b… witches." She watched her language in front of her son.

"Sounds good but do you really need help?" Maleficent asked.

"I think I do."

"I'll go with you. It'll be an adventure." Maleficent said.

"Thanks. We need passports. I brought my old records with me so Mal, you do have ID and stuff right?" Emma asked.

"Of course. I've been here twelve years." Maleficent replied.

"Bae, do you mind staying here with Astrea for a couple days?" Emma asked.

"I guess." Bae replied, he tried to fake happy.

"We'll have fun buddy. I'll show you around New York and everything."

Bae forced a smile. Emma pulled Bae in close to her and kissed his forehead.

-v-

 _Enchanted Forest – Yesterday_

 _The family was gathered in Bae's room where the wardrobe was and they had just restored the magic in it. It was time for the temporary goodbye. They were all crying and hugging but the curse was coming and they had to hurry, as hard as it was. Emma got into the wardrobe._

" _I will find you." Emma gave Neal one last kiss before he closed the wardrobe. When he opened it, it was empty._

 _Then it was Bae's turn._

" _We'll see you soon. We love you. Take care of your mom, okay." Neal said and kissed his eldest child on the forehead. Bae got into the wardrobe._

" _I love you." Bae said then Neal closed the wardrobe's door._

 _They were a few seconds from their happy endings being stripped away from them and they all joined one group hug together. Then POOF. Happy endings were something that had to be fought for once more._


	2. World With Some Magic

World with Some Magic

Emma and Maleficent were on a plane to San Francisco and would be landing soon. It was the first time either of them were on a plane and it was quite an experience. Meanwhile, they got to chat a bit more about what had been going on the past fourteen years.

"You're bored, aren't you? You know, in this world?" Emma asked Maleficent.

"Uh… Don't get me wrong, there are things I love about this world. It's fascinating…" Maleficent replied.

"But?" Emma added because she knew there was one.

"I'm happy I have my daughter and that is most important to me."

"But?" Emma waited.

"I'm bored, okay! Only sometimes. I just miss the adventure and beauty of our world. I'm sorry but I miss being in charge. I miss my clothes, my fabulous clothes! I miss magic and not just my powers, though I certainly do miss them. I miss people believing that happiness and love were something that can be achieved, believing that dreams can come true. People here want something they don't believe in, how does that make sense?"

"Maybe you should be a counselor or something."

"I am. I was a fairy for a couple centuries, fell in love, had my heart broken, went dark and found the light again. I have a lot of good advice to offer."

"Certainly."

"So… Snow actually calls Regina mom and Regina lets her?" Maleficent questioned and laughed. It popped into her head again. She just couldn't believe it.

Emma laughed. "Yes. We're all pretty close knit. Maybe too much… maybe a little co-dependent on each other."

-v-

Back in New York, Bae and Astrea were quietly sitting in her living room as he wrote in one of the brown leather books that hadn't been filled yet called, _After Happily Ever After._

"What are you writing, Champ?" Astrea tried to start a conversation. He didn't say much.

"It's called, _After Happily Ever After."_ Bae replied.

"Let me guess, it's about after happily ever after." Astrea joked. Bae looked at her dryly then looked back down at the book and continued to write. Well that got her nowhere.

"Come on, let me show you around. We'll have fun."

Bae closed the book and sighed. "Okay."

-v-

In San Francisco, Emma and Maleficent arrived at a big Victorian manor on a street full of Victorian homes that sat high with a flight of stairs leading up to it. There must've been people home, there was a blue SUV, a silver mini coop and a green bug in the driveway.

"Aww! That's like Neal's old car… That he stole." Emma reminisced as she noticed the green bug in the driveway. Then she and Maleficent headed up the stairs. Emma started to knock on the door but hesitated.

"What are you waiting for?" Maleficent asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Give me a break. Two fairy tale characters show up on your doorstep, it's going to be a little weird, even if you do know they exist. I'm just preparing myself for the conversation." Emma took a deep breath then knocked. A few moments later, a woman in her late thirties with honey brown eyes and brown hair half way down her back opened the door. "Hello! You must be… Piper Halliwell. I'm Emma and this is Maleficent…"

"Maleficent?" Piper questioned.

"We mean you no harm, I just need you and your sisters' help."

Piper looked at them suspiciously but evil beings don't usually knock and they haven't dealt with any evil beings for a few years now so she invited them in. Piper's younger sisters, Phoebe and Paige who also had brown eyes and long brown hair but not as long as Piper's were sitting in the living room drinking tea. Piper introduced them and they joined the sisters in the living room.

"So why do you need our help?" Piper asked.

"You know how the fairy tales are real?" Emma started.

"Yeah, had a serious reality check about that." Paige said.

"Well, I am Snow White and Prince Charming's daughter and this is Maleficent, you know from Sleeping Beauty."

Paige chuckled. "I'm sorry, I didn't expect that. Why do things still shock me?"

"Maleficent, wouldn't that make you evil?" Phoebe asked.

"I dabbled a bit in darkness once upon a time but I have turned a new leaf or found my way again, however you want to put it." Maleficent replied.

"You have a general idea about the origin of fairy tales so I'll get to the point. There's a curse cast by Cora, The Queen of Hearts. Yes, from Alice in Wonderland. She's also my step-great grandmother?" Emma thought about it to make sure that was right. The family tree is so confusing. "We suspect Ursula and Cruella De Vil are in cahoots with her. Most of the fairy tale characters are in this cursed town and I have to save them. I would appreciate it if you could help me with this mission but also now that I'm back in this world, I don't know how to tap into my powers. Maybe you could help with that too? Please?"

"Question, it's clear how we know about fairy tales but how do you know about us?" Piper asked.

"The same way." Emma pulled out _Tales from Other Lands_ from her bag and flipped it open to _The Charmed Ones_ and handed the book to Phoebe who was sitting in the middle of the sisters.

"We're in a book?" Phoebe questioned unbelievably.

"I feel so violated." Paige said.

"Tell me about it." Maleficent said. "At least they didn't make you out to be the worst villain to ever live."

"Did you not curse a baby?" Piper asked.

"I did some bad deeds but I have nothing on the other villains." Maleficent replied.

"Wait until you read the real Peter Pan story." Emma said.

Paige saw the _Once Upon A Time_ book sticking out of Emma's bag and asked to see. Emma handed it to her and she flipped through the pages.

"We'll help you…" Piper started.

"Oh. My. Gosh." Paige exclaimed turning everyone's attention to her.

"What?" Phoebe asked.

"Enchantress. Enchantress is in the book." Paige stated.

"You know about the Evil Enchantress? Not the most popular story." Emma said.

"She's Paige's past life." Piper informed.

"Oh… She's The Queen of Heart's mother." Emma stated.

"What? I thought she didn't have a child." Paige said.

"She had a child, Cora. She was born some years before Enchantress took the thrown and joined the coven but she left her with her father. She wanted the power but it seems that is also why she was so obsessed with having another. She sort of regretted her decision to leave Cora behind." Light bulb moment. "This is how I can really defeat her. We always say love is the answer. Clearly, Cora has mommy issues like her daughters, talk about generational patterns. If she can get closure with her mother then maybe she will stop the madness."

"But I'm sort of not her mother anymore." Paige said.

"Maybe it's worth tapping into to save a soul from the darkness or try." Phoebe said.

"Try is the operative word. She's a tough case. If all else fails then maybe you could open a portal and send us home?" Emma asked. "It's a bit beyond the scope of my powers as powerful as I am and Cora will not do it willingly if we can't get her to come to her senses."

-v-

Back in New York, Astrea introduced Bae to the arcade. Once she taught him how to play the games, he really started to have fun. It seemed for a moment, he actually managed to forget how worried he was about his family. After hours of playing, they finally took a break to eat.

"So you're having fun?" Astrea asked.

"Yes. Thanks. I'm usually more… lively but…" Bae started.

"I understand. That's why I wanted to take your mind off of it for a while. Everything will work out. You'll see."

"I know. I know so much about the bad things that have happened but I never expected them to happen again. We had happily ever after. You can't lose happily ever after or so I thought."

"You didn't lose it. It's just misplaced. You and your mom will save the day, that's why you were given the opportunity and the power."

"You know, you're pretty cool. I can't wait to write about you."

Astrea laughed. "I'm not a "fairy tale" and I'm boring."

"You're the daughter of Maleficent and Donkey and you're best friends with Snow White's daughter. You're a fairy tale if you like it or not and I think you haven't realized your own destiny yet."

"Well thank you Baelfire. I will be sure to keep that in mind."

A beautiful brown skinned girl with jet black curly hair and hazel eyes who was about Bae's age walked by and caught his attention. She walked over to a motorcycle game and got on.

"Go play with her. Talk to her." Astrea suggested.

"Uh… I don't know, I kind of missed the Charming gene when it comes to girls."

"I highly doubt that."

"Really. Forget tongue tied, I can't even speak."

"You just need practice, I'm sure. Give it a shot. You're brave."

Bae went over and got on the motorcycle game next to the pretty girl and joined in the race. He didn't quite master that game yet.

"You're- You're good." Bae stuttered.

"Thanks… I'm Vella."

"Baelfire."

"That's different. I like it. You go to school around here?"

"No. I'm just visiting… Want to play another round?"

"Sure."

The two put in another token and started the game again.

-v-

Paige was trying to get Emma to tap into her powers so she had her meditating in the basement.

"Focus. You're powers are tied to your emotions." Paige said. This went on for about a half hour then she tried to actually get Emma to use her powers. So she focused on a vase. "Everyone has an emotional trigger. Piper, Phoebe and I had to get scared when we first tapped into our powers. I hear our sister Prue had to get angry. What's your thing?"

"I think it's anger but I never get angry enough to fully tap into it here."

"That was before. What makes you angry?"

"I don't know. Betrayal. Having my family and happiness ripped from me." The lights began to flicker.

"You're getting there. Don't hold back. Why does it make you angry?"

"Because it's not fair! We do everything to protect and do the right thing, to be good and where does it get us?" The lights flickered more rapidly. "We had everything we've worked so hard for taken away from us." Emma held her hand out and exploded the vase. "I did it!"

"Yeah! Got some bottled up anger, huh?"

Emma sighed. "Is it bad that being good is really hard sometimes?"

"If it were always easy, how would we grow? My sisters and I have been down the same road. It's natural but we have to keep fighting."

"You're good."

"Thanks, I was trained by the best. Plus, I'm half whitelighter which is an angel that guides good magical beings so it's sort of in my blood… Okay, let's get back to work. We have to get you strong enough to fight the Queens of Darkness."

-v-

Bae and Astrea were walking down a New York street and came upon a convenience store.

"This is where your parents met." Astrea informed.

"Cool. This is where he stole from, huh?"

"How do you…"

"I'm the author. I know a lot of things I probably shouldn't know."

They continued to walk a few more blocks until they reached the apartment building that he and his family lived in before they went to Storybrooke fourteen years ago. Then they headed to the amusement park where Neal used to take Emma and hung out on the carousel.

"I knew about these different places but it's pretty cool to actually experience them in person. You know what else would be cool to experience?"

"What's that?"

"School here."

"Really? Is this about that girl?"

"A little but I mean, I could relate to my mom more. You know, no one has really experienced a lot of what my mom has experienced except Lilo. As a writer I can understand my character even more."

Astrea laughed. "Aww. This is so not about your mom. Nice try though. What school does she go to?"

-v-

Emma, Maleficent and The Charmed Ones discussed the plan for when they get to Storybrooke. Emma was so grateful that they were so helpful and so nice. She really needed the most powerful magical beings of this world on her side.

"So when are we going to follow through with this plan?" Phoebe asked.

"How's seventy-two hours?" Emma asked.

"That's Saturday. The kids are out of school and hanging out with the men of the family anyway." Piper said.

"Perfect time to kick some ass." Phoebe said.

"Great! I have one more mission to accomplish first." Emma stated.

-v-

The next day, Astrea went to a school and asked if she and her "nephew" could sit in on some classes because she was deciding what school they wanted to enroll him in since he was new in town. Bae did find it interesting, a little boring at times but interesting. He actually did run into Vella between classes and was able to really talk to her during lunch.

"Are you stalking me?" Vella joked.

"No. I just wanted to check out the school, you know, in case I had to stay here but I just got news that I'll probably be leaving in a few days." Bae explained.

"That's too bad. It would be nice to get to know you better handsome." Vella smiled.

Bae was officially blushing. "Maybe we can hang out one last time before I go?"

"Sure. Here's my number." Vella ripped a piece of paper in the notebook she was carrying and wrote her number on it. "Call me." She smiled and walked away as the bell rang.

"Sure, just have to learn how first." He thought to himself and laughed. After the lunch period, he and Astrea went back to her apartment.

-v-

Emma and Maleficent left The Charmed Ones manor and were headed to their next destination.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Maleficent asked. She wasn't so sure about this little plan of hers.

They arrived on a very private secluded yet beautiful property which was also in San Francisco and knocked on the door.

"Yes I am. Don't worry. I have my powers under control and everything. I am going to save Stitch and these people are going to help me." Emma stated.


	3. What's the Stitch?

What's the Stitch?

 _Emma and Maleficent left The Charmed Ones manor and were headed to their next destination._

" _Are you sure you want to do this?" Maleficent asked. She wasn't so sure about this little plan of hers._

 _They arrived on a very private secluded yet beautiful property which was also in San Francisco and knocked on the door._

" _Yes I am. Don't worry. I have my powers under control and everything. I am going to save Stitch and these people are going to help me." Emma stated._

A six foot tall man with brown hair and eyes that were a pretty but odd shade of light brown who appeared to be in his early thirties answered the door.

"Can I help you?" The man asked.

"You're Max Evans? I'm Emma. This is Maleficent. I need your help. I know who you are and your secret is safe with us. I promise. I have a friend who is locked up in a government facility _._ He's an alien." Emma explained.

Max was hesitant to believe or trust is a better word.

A woman with brown hair and brown eyes about five foot five came to the door. "Max, it's okay. We can trust them." She assured.

"This is my wife, Liz. Come in." Max took his wife's word for it.

They invited them into the living room.

"Why do you think we can help you?" Max asked. He spoke in somewhat of a monotone but yet there was still a warmth to his voice.

"Fairy tales are recorded experiences of real people in other realms. Those stories went into a book called _Once Upon A Time._ Special stories from this realm are recorded in a different book. Your story happens to be one of them. It's called _Roswell._ " Emma took the book, _Tales from Other Lands_ out of her bag, turned to their section of the book and handed it to them. "Violating, I know."

"So the person you want to rescue is named Stitch? How long has the government had him?" Liz asked. She's clairvoyant.

"Yes, as in Lilo and Stitch. They've had him for four years." Emma stated.

"Ooh…" Four years is a long time… "And he's an alien like me?" Max asked.

"Yes. The government looked for him for years and Lilo, she's my best friend, she would say he was her dog anytime she would slip up and say his name but really he's her true love. Anyway, they captured him and killed her sister and brother-in-law in the process then she escaped to my world."

"Your world? What world are you from exactly?" Max questioned. Max handed the book to Maleficent and she looked at their story because Emma didn't really tell her much about them.

"Oh! I didn't tell you… Sorry. I'm from a world called Misthaven. I'm Snow White's daughter."

"I fell in love with an alien then technically became one but never thought to believe that fairy tales were true stories." Liz said.

"This Tess girl kind of looks like Belle." Maleficent pointed out.

Emma looked over at the page Mal was looking at. "Freaky. I never noticed that before… So look, I know you guys are hiding from the government so I don't want you to physically help me break him out but you've gotten out before so if you could just tell me what I can expect and give me an idea about where to look then I'd really appreciate it. I just want to save a good person and reunite him with his true love. No one should miss out on that or be tortured and studied by the government."

"No one understands true love the way we do." Liz gazed into Max's eyes. They've been together almost two decades and still love each other the same as the day they met.

"We will tell you everything you need to know but we do have a friend who can physically help you. Her name is Kim. Kim Possible." Max said.

-v-

Bae met Vella at the amusement park. Astrea was nearby with her dads.

"Don't get freaked out if you feel like we're being followed. It's just my dad. He's not ready for me to hang out with boys alone yet." Vella explained.

"That's okay. My aunt is lurking nearby too. She's just concerned because I'm not from around here." Bae said.

"Where are your parents?"

"My mom's in San Francisco handling some important business. She'll be back in a couple days. My dad… he's with the rest of my family."

"Your parents are divorced too?"

"Divorced?" Foreign language.

"Yeah. Not together anymore. Over for good.

"No! That's awful."

Vella laughed. "It happens."

"Not where I'm from."

"Where are you from? Fairy tale land?"

Bae laughed. "Only in fairy tales do people have names like Baelfire, right? Don't be surprised if you read about me one day."

Vella smiled. They got funnel cakes from the food stand then sat down to eat them.

"So what do you want to be when you grow up?" Vella inquired.

"A writer." Bae took a bite of the funnel cake. He was amazed. "It's pure sugar but it's so good!"

"Never had a funnel cake?"

"No." Bae laughed.

"So since you want to be a writer, tell me a story."

"What if I told you, fairy tales were real and that you should believe in hope and true love and anything that you can imagine is possible can happen? You just have to believe."

"Good start."

"What if I told you Peter Pan is evil? He actually has a son, Rumplestiltskin. Rumplestitskin is the beast in _Beauty and the Beast_.He has a son. He was a lost boy for a while then he escaped to this world where he met and fell in love with Emma, the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming."

"I'd say you have an epic imagination… I suppose you have an epic love story for Emma and Rumplestiltskin's son, so continue. I'm intrigued as to what else you can come up with."

-v-

Emma and Maleficent teleported to Roswell, New Mexico, outside of a government facility. Standing there was a woman in her mid-twenties with long red hair, big green eyes and an outfit perfect for kicking ass. She was startled when the two appeared.

"It takes a lot to startle me. Don't sneak up on me like that. I'm Kim Possible. It is a true honor to meet you. I'm not really a girl into princesses and stuff but Snow White was my personal favorite. Now it's Brave because Merida's a total bad ass but I still love Snow White."

"What if I told you, Snow White's a total bad ass too?" Emma asked.

"Love her even more… So here's the stitch in mission save… Stitch... Wait, you can fight, right?"

"Of course." Emma replied.

"I'm alright." Maleficent said.

"Good because you're going to need to kick some ass." Kim said.

-v-

Bae and Vella were walking through the amusement park as Bae came to the end of his story.

"That was quite a story. Never give up on being a writer." Vella said.

"Do you believe in magic and true love now?"

"Perhaps a little more than I did before but it's not that simple… Do you always name characters after yourself?"

"Huh? Oh no… Do you want to ride the carousel?"

"Sure." They ran over to the ride.

-v-

Emma, Maleficent and Kim appeared in an all-white room with a single bed and a man, Stitch hooked up to machines. He looked like he had been tortured for well… four years. Emma ran over to him.

"Oh my gosh! Stitch." Emma exclaimed. He seemed incoherent. "If you can understand me, I'm Emma. I'm a friend of Lilo's. I'm going to get you out of here." Alarms started going off and red lights began flashing. "Oh shit. We better get out of here." Emma started unstrapping him from the bed. Then five men in black suits and guns barged in. "Oh, I wish I had a sword or some arrows right now." Emma thought. "Oh yeah. I have my powers now. Duh." She made a sword appear in her hands. "You know I never liked guns." Emma charged at the men.

They started shooting but the girls were so quick they were missing. These three women were whooping the butts of these five grown ass trained men and it felt good. A few minutes later, all the men were on the floor. A few were pretty scarred up from the sword but none were dead, all beat up pretty bad though.

"That is what a princess can do." Emma said.

"Hell yeah!" Kim exclaimed with a new found respect and perspective of what a princess is.

"I thought you said you were alright?" Emma asked Maleficent.

"'May have been an understatement. I had to find a hobby since I had no magic." Maleficent said.

"Let's get out of here. I'll keep guard while you get him out." Kim said. Emma headed over to Stitch. "Hey Wade, is anyone coming?" She had an ear piece in her ear to communicate to her techy science friend.

"You're good for about another thirty seconds." Wade informed.

"Hurry!" Kim exclaimed.

"We're ready. Let's go." Emma said. They all got together and teleported to Astrea's apartment.

"Can you help him?" Kim asked.

Emma touched Stitch's head and focused on healing him and she did. He blinked then looked up at Emma.

"Thank you." Stitch hugged her.

"No one gets left behind, remember? Lilo is going to be so happy to see you." Emma said.

"They'll find me again." Stitch said.

"You'd have to be in this world for them to find you."

"Well, another mission complete." Kim stated.

"Kim, thanks for all of your help." Emma said.

"Just another day's work. Besides, who else can say they got to fight side by side with a real princess. Snow White's daughter no less."

Emma smiled. "Not everyone gets to fight with The Kim Possible. It was really nice meeting you. I'll take you home."

-v-

Bae and Vella were saying goodbye.

"When do you leave?" Vella asked.

"Two days time." Bae said.

"You're so different. I don't think I'll ever meet anyone else like you. That kind of makes me sad. Will I ever see you again?"

"Probably not but never say never. Anything is possible."

"You really believe that, don't you? Maybe it wouldn't hurt for me to believe too… I've only known you a couple days and I feel like I'll miss you forever. Is that weird? I'm being weird, aren't I? I'm sorry."

"No. It's not weird at all. I feel the same. Hey, at least I won you that stuffed crow for you to remember me by."

Vella looked over at the gift shop. "Come here." They went into the gift shop. Vella looked around. She found a black watch with a butterfly as the hand. She paid for it and gave it to him. "Some tribes in Native American culture believe that butterflies are a symbol of hope, this hope you've spent most of today trying to convince me to believe in. It also represents endless possibilities. Just the flap of a butterflies wings can affect the entire universe. A watch represents time and as long as this watch ticks, there is still hope that this won't be the last we'll see of each other."

They smiled sweetly at each other and then Bae kissed her cheek. "Goodbye Vella."

"Goodbye Baelfire."

Bae walked away.

-v-

Back at Astrea's apartment, Maleficent made Stitch a sandwich. It was the first he'd tasted of real food in years. It just so happened that sandwiches were his favorite. Emma appeared in the room, back from taking Kim home.

"Good. You're eating. All Lilo has done is worry about you. She reminded me of my mom for the eighteen years we were without my dad. That reminds me of me right now." Emma said.

"You'll see them in a couple days." Maleficent assured.

"That connection between two souls is so real. There's nothing else like it in any realm." Emma said.

Bae and Astrea entered the apartment.

"Mom!" Bae exclaimed and hugged her.

"I've missed you sweet boy. Did you enjoy yourself while I was away?"

"It was hard but I managed to. I met a girl."

"Ooh. Details later! This is Stitch. Stitch, this is Astrea and my son, Baelfire."

"So you're Stitch. I'm glad you're okay." Astrea said.

"We're heading to Storybrooke in two days. Astrea, you should come with us and go back to the Enchanted Forest." Emma suggested.

"I can't leave my dad here, especially now that my mom's died." Astrea stated.

"Bring him along!" Emma suggested.

"He's not just going to go to another realm. He doesn't even know other realms exist. He doesn't even know Maleficent is _Maleficent._ " Astrea did a dramatic hand gesture.

"Seriously? You never told him? Anyway, come on. Tell him. Maybe now that he has lost his wife and you're all he has, he won't mind a huge change."

"A change like losing indoor plumbing, electricity and modern technology?"

"We have other things to offer."

"Our lives are here, Em but thanks for the suggestion." Astrea went to the refrigerator. Emma and Maleficent exchanged a look. Emma knew Maleficent kind of wanted to go back to their world or least try a new one. She missed adventure but she wanted to be with her daughter more. So she would live without adventure if it meant staying with her only beloved child...


	4. Fun

Fun

Emma, Bae and Astrea were sitting in the living room eating ice cream and watching movies in their pajamas. It was the first time Emma took a moment to relax since she got here. Meanwhile, Stitch was in the bedroom blasting _Hound Dog_ by Elvis over and over and over… and over again.

"When I said I missed music, this was not what I meant." Emma said.

"Give the guy a break. He's been held captive for four years and it's his favorite song." Astrea said.

"Yes but why?" Emma replied. "Anyway, love, love, love this _Enchanted_ movie. It is so cool they made a movie about Giselle. For once, it's very true to her. It seems the newer movies are a little better with that." Emma said as the credits rolled.

"Let me introduce you to some new music." Astrea said then grabbed her phone then connected it to her speakers via Bluetooth. "You have to hear this song _Thinking Out Loud_ by this singer Ed Sheeran. I guarantee you, you will love it as much as Stitch loves _Hound Dog._ " Astrea pressed play and the song came through the speakers.

Emma looked at the phone then at the speakers then back at the phone. "What the?" No wires.

"Oh yeah. You haven't been introduced to Bluetooth yet."

"I've missed a lot in fifteen years. Phones can do anything. Technology has almost caught up with _Back to the Future._ Actually, since it's 2015 I'm a little disappointed. Where are the flying cars and hover boards?"

"That's what we've been saying." Astrea laughed.

They quieted to listen to the song and Emma was singing along by the second chorus.  
"Yes! I love it. I feel it." She was in her feelings because she missed Neal. The three of them got up and danced around the room. They replayed it once more.

"You have to hear this singer named Adele." Astrea said then played _Hello_ followed by a string of other love songs.

"Okay. I love your playlist and I will get me a little tablet thingy, store all of it on there and take it with me when I go home but I can't take anymore love songs. I'm homesick like hell." Emma said.

"Then how about this." Astrea played _Uptown Funk_ by Mark Ronson and they got back up to dance. "You should go to the club with me. It's the only time we'll ever have the chance to go together. I'm pretty sure they don't have clubs back in fairy tale land."

"It's the Enchanted Forest and I don't know…"

"Come on. We never got to do it when you were here before. You were seven months pregnant your eighteenth birthday. It'll be fun!"

"I can't go to a club… And I have Bae."

"Mom, I'll be fine. I'll stay here with Stitch. We're not betraying our family. We'll be there with bells on tomorrow. There's nothing else we can do today. You should go with a clear head and fun is a way to do that." Bae said.

"I don't know if I can truly have fun but... fine. We're leaving at 12:30 and I'm not getting drunk."

"Cool! Until then, let's all go out and get away from _Hound Dog."_ Astrea said.

After they got dressed, they went to fencing classes, not that they need it. Maybe Astrea did but it'd be fun. This was something Astrea did as a hobby with her biological father, Bo. Emma was already a fencing champ when she left.

Emma and Bae were partnered together and Astrea was partnered with a man in the class. Everyone was impressed by how good Emma and Bae were. Bae was still learning the valued sword fighting skill but he was already pretty good. Astrea's partner, tall with blonde hair and blue eyes, his name was Carl went over to Emma after a round.

"You're pretty good for a girl." Carl said.

Emma looked him up and down. "Woman, and my ability to kick your ass has nothing to do with it."

Carl laughed. "I didn't say you could kick _my_ ass."

"I see. You're one of those seeing is believing types. Let's go."

"What?"

"On behalf of every woman you will ever meet from this day forward, I am going to teach you a lesson."

"You're a confident one."

"Less talking." Emma put her fencing helmet back on and started. He wasn't ready. "Rule number one, always be ready. Always have your guard up in a fight." He put his helmet on and began to fight her. Everyone stood around and watched them and he was embarrassed because he was easily losing. Then he was on the floor.

"I take it all back." Carl said.

"Fast learner." Emma helped him up.

"That's my mom." Bae said proudly.

Later they went to practice archery, Emma bought a tablet then they went to eat and then went back home. Once they got there, Emma took some time to help Henry tap into his powers in this world. That came along pretty well.

Hours later, Emma and Astrea went to a popular club in New York. Emma wore a cute little red dress, a pair of pumps and her hair was curled. It was a refreshing look. They got there and Emma kind of stayed on the side.

"Have a drink." Astrea came over with a glass for her and she took a sip. "Loosen up. It's the only time we'll get to do this. I'm not trying to be insensitive to the situation. I just miss not being able to do things with my best friend."

"Okay." Emma said simply. Her friend missed her. She missed her too. They hadn't seen each other in thirteen years and since she'd been back, Astrea was so helpful. The least she could do was have a little fun with her in her world.

"Come." Astrea took her over to some familiar faces.

"OMG. Emma!" They exclaimed. They were some girls they used to go to school with. Some were on the cheerleading squad with her. There were a couple of guys too, one being her old friend Eri. They were in the poetry club together and he took her to her junior prom.

"Wow! Hey guys!" Emma exclaimed. They shared a group hug.

"Where did you disappear to after graduation?" Eri asked.

"Oh, I… moved…" Emma replied.

"What do you do?" One of the girls asked.

"Oh… I own and run an orphanage." Emma answered then Carl, the guy from the fencing class tapped her on her shoulder. "You."

"Yes, would you care to dance beautiful?" Carl asked.

She looked him up and down again. She didn't like him, he was an arrogant, annoying sexist. "I'm married." She showed him her ring.

"Happily?"

"Very." She turned back to her friends and took another sip of her drink. "Let's hit the dance floor, shall we?" She put down her drink and they all went to dance.

Emma finally allowed herself to have fun but 12:30 came around and she was still ready to go. So she said goodbye to her old friends and they begged her to stay.

"Sorry guys but I have kids and a family to take care of. I have a big day ahead of me." Emma said. They understood and said goodbye to her once more. They never thought they'd see her again, they couldn't even find her on social media. They were glad she did well for herself but they didn't expect anything less. So many they went to high school with looked at her as the idea of perfection. She was beautiful, valedictorian, class president, fencing champ, archery champ, a black belt, a cheerleader, on the poetry club... What didn't she do? What couldn't she do? Aside from that time everyone thought she was crazy because she believed she was a fairy tale character and getting knocked up and engaged as a teenager, she was definitely perfect in everyone's eyes. With all that, she still seemed quite mysterious and she still was.

"Did you have fun?" Astrea asked once they got back to the apartment.

"I did. It was nice seeing everyone too. It gave me an idea of what life would have been if I stuck around." Emma replied.

"Maybe you should stick around."

Emma laughed. "Yeah, no." She shook her head.

"Don't you miss it a little? There's indoor plumbing!"

"I miss things. I miss people but I don't miss everything as a whole. Home is where the heart is and right now, most of my heart is in Storybrooke and my heart must be saved. That said, I'm going to bed so I can be prepared to fight for it. Goodnight, friend." Emma went to bed.

No more fun and games.


	5. Welcome Back to Storybrooke

Welcome _Back_ to Storybrooke

For a week, the residents of Storybrooke have been stuck in misery and time, unaware that time is not moving and that they're happiness was ripped from them not long ago. Only a few were immune…

"Mirror, Mirror on the wall, who is the most powerful of them all?" Cora said into her master bathroom mirror. She smiled then walked into her bedroom where her husband lied in bed staring blankly at the ceiling. "Penny for your thoughts, Mr. Gold?" She kissed him as she climbed into the bed.

"Nothing my dear. Let's start our day, shall we?" He kissed her then got out of the bed. She smiled as she watched him walk into the bathroom.

-v-

Meanwhile in the next room, their daughter, Wilma (Regina) was saying goodbye to a handsome gentlemen, Gavin (Robin).

"How long must we do this?" Gavin asked, angrily.

"I'm not making you. You haven't complained for all these years, don't complain now." Wilma said.

"If I stop, you'll turn me into the authorities."

"Well technically, I am the authorities. "This is simple. You can work for me, while giving you and your son a place to stay or you can go to jail. You've clearly made the choice you can live with."

"I don't love you."

Wilma got out of the bed and walked seductively over to him then kissed him. "Don't you know, my dear? Love is weakness… You're dismissed." She went back, sat on the bed and crossed her legs. Then he walked out of the room.

-v-

Luke (Neal) was a single father of two girls, Fate (Hope) and Milah (Nara). He had been abandoned by his father as a child. His father wouldn't acknowledge him because he was married to the wife he loved more than his mother and had a child he actually wanted.

Luke took his daughters to school like he did every morning then headed to his first job because for as long as he could remember, he's had two of them just so that he could barely make ends meet and take care of his precious daughters.

-v-

Lacey (Belle) also took her daughter, Kahle (Jane) to school. Lacey had no idea who her daughter's father was and she spent most of her nights in the bar which made for a pretty wild pre-teen daughter.

-v-

James (David) took his thirteen year old son Leo (Emery) with his wife Katherine (Abigail) to school then headed over to the pet shop where he worked.

-v-

Daisy (Andalasia, Pinocchio's wife) was a single mother dropping off her two children to school like she did every day.

-v-

Mr. Adam Gold, entered his pawn shop and headed behind the counter. On the left was a six foot male puppet that was absolutely one of a kind. No one in town could even afford it besides him and his family. Most people found it creepy. He felt it was a beautiful work of art…

-v-

Fate (Hope) and Leo (Emery) met up with each other during their lunch period like they did every day.

"Do you think Cora knows that we're immune to the curse?" Hope asked.

"No. If she did, she would've killed us already." Emery replied.

"We were told we were special too. I suppose this is what that meant? I hope my mom comes soon. I hate living like this." Hope began to cry.

"Emma is coming. She just has to figure out how to defeat The Queens of Darkness first."

"It took eighteen years to break the first curse."

"That's because my mom didn't know anything about Storybrooke. She had to put the pieces together."

"Speaking of grandma, have you figured out where she is yet?"

"No and it worries me… I am going to scream if I have to spend one more day with Abigail." Emery stated.

-v-

Under the clock tower, a guard brought in a tray of food, if you can call it that and slid it under a gate. There was plenty room on the other side of it but with no key, there was no way in and no way out. The guard couldn't see the person behind it because they were sitting in the dark as usual.

"Eat up." The guard said.

"Leave us be." Wilma entered the dungeon and the guard left. She carried a basket full of red apples and a small piece of lasagna in a container. "I brought you something other than goo… Mary Margaret."

A face as white as snow and lips as red as blood… with short raven colored hair stepped into the light. "I'd rather eat the goo than to eat something from you."

"What do you think, its poison?" Wilma chuckled.

"Probably. You know I don't eat apples anyway."

"It won't kill you. An apple a day keeps the doctors away, you know? I'm just simply making a kind gesture to a pathetic prisoner."

"It's not in you. If you want to be kind, let me out and stop having me tortured every day."

"No can do. You do the crime, you do the time."

"I didn't do anything!" Mary Margaret yelled.

"What do you call murder, treason, treachery and thievery?"

"I didn't do any of that. Besides, you can't take what's already yours. Those are all crimes of your family and you know it."

"Good bye, Ms. Blanchard." Wilma slid the food under the gate. "Starve if you want, it's up to you." Wilma walked away.

-v-

Cora walked into the mayor's office, her office and met Ursula and Cruella.

"Where is she?" Cora asked.

"She's running late." Ursula informed.

"How is she running late? The same thing damn near happens every day." Cora questioned.

"In the meantime, this little town is cute and all but how and when do we get what we want?" Cruella asked then someone knocked on the door to announce their presence."

"Where have you been?" Cora yelled.

-v-

Later was family dinner at the Gold house. Cora, Adam, Wilma and Wilma's eleven year old son Regan (Henry) [who was also Gavin's son but no one knew that] were gathered around the dinner table. The private chef, Emerald (Princess Tiana) prepared lasagna tonight. She was terrific. They weren't even at the table five minutes yet and Wilma was throwing back shots of whiskey like it was nothing.

"Mom, don't you think that's enough?" Regan suggested.

"The boy is right." Cora said. Her daughter as an alcoholic wasn't quite in her plan.

"Yes dear, that's enough." Adam gestured for Gavin, the servant to take it from her.

"But daddy…" Gavin took the bottle and the glass and took it into the kitchen. She sighed.

Cora realized she had the family she wanted but they were still dysfunctional. This curse wasn't everything she thought it was but the life she created was much better than the life she's had.

Speaking of imperfection, Cora then knocked over her red wine. "Ugh! Honor (Roland) get this up now!" She yelled.

Honor was standing on the side, a servant like his father. He ran to clean up the mess. Gavin barged in the room.

"Don't talk to my son like that!" Gavin yelled.

Adam got up and pushed Gavin into a wall. "And don't you ever talk to my wife like that!"

-v-

Meanwhile, in that exact moment, Emma and Bae walked into town and stopped on Main Street. The clock struck for the first time in seven days. Emma and Bae weren't alone, they were with Maleficent, The Charmed Ones and Stitch.

"Ready to save our family?" Emma asked Bae.

"Lay it on me, mom." Bae said.

Emma kissed Bae on his head and a blast of energy went over the town. The curse was broken.

-v-

Rumplestitskin was in the middle of holding Robin up against a wall. Roland was cleaning the floor while Henry sat at the table and Regina was just watching it all as Cora stood there in awe of her man standing up for her but it was all over now.

Rumple let Robin go. Roland got up and hugged his brother and rage came across Regina's face.

"How. Could. You?" Regina was heated beyond words.

"Dear, I just wanted the family we never had." Cora explained.

"I have a perfectly good family. It was your choice not to be included!" Regina yelled then went over to Robin. "I'm so sorry!" A tear fell, even though she was cursed, she was so awful to him, she felt terrible. "Roland!" She hugged him. "You made my son and husband servants?"

"No. I made _his_ son a servant and you can do much better than street scum." Regina couldn't fight the impulse to slap the hell out of Cora. Cora couldn't even believe it and Regina didn't feel bad about it either. Then she remembered… "Oh no. Snow!" She kissed the boys' heads. "I'll deal with you later." She said to Cora before running out.

-v-

Regina ran into the dungeon under the clock tower. "Snow!"

"Mom!" Snow called.

Regina ran over to the gate, took out the key and let her out. They hugged. "I'm so sorry, Snowbell."

"You were cursed."

"I know but still… The lasagna and apples weren't poisoned by the way. Did you eat? Did you eat all week?"

"Hardly…. So you still sort of looked out for me even though we were cursed?"

"Don't get all emotional on me… Come on. Let's find the rest of our family and you know feed you."

They ran outside and everyone was coming together… Snow, David and Emery ran to each other and hugged.

"Grandma! Grandpa!" Hope, Nara, Haven and Salem exclaimed running over to them. Neal, Wendy, Belle and Jane were lagging behind.

Rumple, Robin, Roland and Henry came from the opposite direction. Belle and Jane ran to Rumple. Neal and Wendy followed. They embraced each other. That felt right. A week with Cora, even with no memories did not feel right at all.

"Where's Emma?" Neal asked. He knew she had to be near. A moment later they saw Emma and Bae with some friends behind them headed in their direction. Everyone's eyes lit up. Emma and Bae ran to their family. They all shared a group hug. All was right with the world again. Well almost…

"Don't rejoice just yet. You're all far from happily ever after." Cora walked up behind them with Ursula and Cruella on either sides of her. The family turned to them.

Let the battle begin.

* * *

 _I hope the name changes were easy to follow.  
_


	6. Light Vs Darkness

Light vs. Darkness

" _Don't rejoice just yet. You're all far from happily ever after." Cora walked up behind them with Ursula and Cruella on either sides of her. The family turned to them._

 _Let the battle begin._

* * *

Piper froze Ursula and Cruella. Cora looked at them.

"Who the hell are you?" Cora asked _._

"Someone more powerful than you." Emma said, way to jab Cora at the core. "Get the kids out of here."

As the eldest of the children Roland and Bae took the initiative of removing themselves and the younger ones from the situation and once they were all gone… Emma held Cora in the air, strangling her telekinetically, like Cora had done to Regina so many times in the past.

"This is impossible. There's no magic in this world." Cora struggled to say.

"So you thought." Emma said then proceeded to strangle Cora harder.

"Emma!" Neal, Snow, David and Regina yelled in unison.

"Damn!" Emma thought but she ignored her family for once and continued this bit of torture. Was it bad how much it felt good? "I don't understand why you can't learn one simple lesson. I want to understand you. I even want to love you but I can't. You actually bring out the worst in me and there's only been one other bitch in my life that's enraged me this much. Good versus evil, light versus dark, internally or externally, it's a universal fight. These good people behind me, who are always behind me, they taught me to choose good, to choose hope, to choose love. Those are the things that will always win. That's how we grow, that is how we find happiness. That is also the only reason I'm not going to kill you." Emma harshly dropped Cora to the ground Cora struggled to catch her breath. "I'm going to keep hope alive that love will once again prevail."

Paige was separate from everyone else. She came walking down the center of the street with long curly brown hair, a jeweled headpiece hung in the center of her head and she wore a green gown straight from the Enchanted Forest. She was beautiful. It was easy to see Cora within her but there was obvious evidence of Regina and Zelena there too.

Paige cast a spell to fully merge the memories of her past life as Enchantress with her current. The spell was to last until midnight so until midnight Paige might have been a handful for a while but at least Enchantress wasn't totally in control.

Cora looked up and recognized her mother's soul. The unbreakable almost broke. A single tear fell from her eye.

"Mother?" Cora questioned and stood to her feet.

Paige stepped to her former daughter but being as her memories were merged with Enchantress she felt as if no time had passed. Her heart was heavy and filled with regret. Amazing how a decision made so long ago still had effects so many years later on so many people. Every decision is important, every decision makes a difference to every person you touch, the people they touch, the world, the universe… Choose carefully. Make sure you know what is truly important.

"I'm sorry, my child." Paige said, voice much lower than her normal voice and not as bubbly.

"You're not my mother. You can't be." Cora said.

"What does your soul tell you?"

Cora stared into her eyes then looked away. "Why are you here?"

"I'm here to save you."

Cora looked at her with cold eyes. "Save me? A little too late, don't you think?"

"It's never too late. I loved you but I didn't understand what was important. I was reincarnated. I'm good, even part angel. I learned from my past but not until that life was over. There are lessons to be learned and if you ignore them, you'll just have to come back and learn it again… I named you Cora. I forgot that you were my core. I forgot that love is what makes you whole so I left you behind and chose power. Because of that, I died alone and full of regret and I still didn't make the right decision in the end. I should've gone back for you and I didn't. I know there's anger in your heart toward me but you… are me. You repeated my mistakes, your children repeated those mistakes. It's a pattern. If you don't choose the right path, you will die alone and regretful just like I did. Don't wait until you die to learn the biggest lesson in life. Choose love, Cora. Choose love. It's never too late."

Tears fell from Cora's eyes uncontrollably. Paige embraced her for a moment then Cora sucked up those tears, let go and stepped back.

"You're wrong mother. Sometimes it is too late. You're too late. There is no going back. Once you lose the people you love…" Cora looked at Regina then Rumple. "…They're gone… like you were."

"Mother, it's not too late. You will always have a place in my heart. If I can change and get everything I've ever dreamed of, then so can you. You just have to make the choice to change and I'm here with open arms." Regina pleaded.

"There's no light here anymore…" Cora stated as if her soul was empty. "…and if I can't be happy, then no one can." She reached into her modern cape. They saw her doing something with her hands but they didn't know what then suddenly they heard… the crushing of a heart. Whose heart was that? Everyone who knew what crushing a heart sounded like, stood there holding their breaths.

Belle collapsed to the ground.

-v-

 _Enchanted Forest- Two weeks ago_

 _Belle was in the kitchen. She was trying to read a book while she was waiting for Rumple to return from warning the others about Cora at the castle. She couldn't focus. She looked over at the chipped teacup then put the book down and picked up the cup. It was the symbol for her and Rumple's love, their happiness. She never imagined that it could be taken away. It's practically been fourteen years of perfection. Rumple's good, their love grows stronger by the day, they have a nice family, they had Jane, and they pretty much adopted Wendy and her brothers as their own. She couldn't imagine losing all that._

 _She got up, still holding the chipped cup and walked into the common room. She was startled by Cora standing next to the spinning wheel._

" _What do you want?" Belle inquired._

" _You know, Rumple taught me how to spin gold on this thing. He taught me how to use magic. It's how we fell in love. Did you know that we were in love?"_

" _You do have Regina to show for it."_

" _Yes, the best of us. Proof that we were an item of perfection."_

" _Clearly, you weren't. You chose power over love."_

" _Many times, he did the same to you, am I right?" Cora teleported the cup into her hand and held the handle by her finger, swinging it carelessly._

" _He was cursed." Belle stared at the cup._

" _That's why we would have worked. He wouldn't have had to choose with me."_

" _Would, could, should. It didn't happen. Let it go."_

" _Okay." Cora dropped the cup and laughed. "I'll show you what I will do." Cora appeared directly in front of Belle and snatched out her heart. "Don't worry. I won't kill you… unless it's necessary. Goodbye Beauty." Cora disappeared in red smoke._

-v-

Storybrooke – Present

"Belle!" Rumple exclaimed and dropped to his true love's side.

"Papa." Tears fell from Neal's eyes and he kneeled next to him. Wendy's eyes quickly welled up and she joined them on the ground.

Cruella and Ursula finally unfroze.

"What happened?" Ursula wondered aloud.

"Apparently a lot." Cruella said with amusement.

Regina looked over at her brokenhearted family and a tear fell from her eye. What was she to do? She had no magic so she felt helpless. She wanted to kill her mother but at the same time she loved her. There's a part of her that was very understanding of her mother. She _was_ her once. Like Paige/Grandma Enchantress said, they repeat the same patterns and she was able to break the apparent family curse and her mother was not. Why was she different from Enchantress or Cora or Zelena? Was it because of all the unconditional love she always had even when she couldn't see it? Was it because of that slight piece of humanity that lived in Rumple when she was conceived? Did it seep through? She wept for her family at the moment but sorrow from understanding crept in for her mother.

Internal conflict still arose in Emma. The battle between, right and wrong, good and bad, light and dark was there. It's never been as much of a fight in her life as it was right now. It was like those two angels were on her shoulders telling her which path to take and this was the fork in the road. What good is someone if they will only continue to hurt people, good people, people she loved?

A light came to Emma's hand and she aimed it toward Cora.

"Emma no!" Snow, David and Regina yelled.

Suddenly, the ball of light stopped. Piper froze it.

"Why did you do that?" Emma questioned. Piper and Phoebe walked over to her.

"Because, you don't want to do that. You don't want to go down this road." Piper said.

"We had to learn the hard way, there is a fine line between saving the innocent and punishing the guilty. That's what you would be doing if you kill her." Phoebe said.

"Don't make a decision you can't come back from. Falling into darkness is easy and hard to get out of. It's lonely and it's not worth it." Regina said.

"There's a better way. Trust me, this isn't something you want to live with." Snow said.

Tears fell from Emma's eyes. "She has to die."

"Not by your hands." David said.

Emma sent the ball of deadly light in another direction then her parents hugged her.

"Isn't that lovely? Now why don't we all hold hands and sing Kumbaya?" Cora taunted.

"What's all the fuss? You people and _the light_. Some people struggle not to be drawn into the darkness but ever since I was a little girl, I've said, 'Why not splash in and have fun?'" Cruella chuckled.

They looked up and a purple fog was beginning to cover the land. They knew what that meant. Magic was coming.

Tinkerbell and Hook walked in on the scene hand and hand.

Cora laughed, feeling it was now a level playing field with magic here. "You won't kill me, Belle's dead and you all are still trapped in this horrid world. Looks like I still win." She gloated.

"Stop it." Paige demanded.

The Blue Fairy quickly appeared behind Cora with a hat in one hand and used the other to reach in Cora's back, pull her heart out and crush it. Cora fell to the ground. "If you want something done, do it yourself."

"Mother!" Regina exclaimed. Her mother was awful, even to her and she just killed Belle but she was still her mother. There was still that special place in her heart for her as crazy as it may sound. There were conflicting internal emotions.

"Cora." Paige uttered.

Everyone who knew who she was had their mouths wide open, except Maleficent. She was her biggest arch enemy. She knew the bitch was evil.

Blue stepped over Cora's body. "So you had reason not to trust me but I guess you just didn't know how much. You were all so focused on Cora that you couldn't see that I was behind the entire master plan. I caused the little distraction that made you all forget to close the wishing well portal. I made sure the dumb witches got to the Enchanted Forest…"

"Who are you calling dumb?" Ursula questioned.

"… Then I proceeded with my plan."

"And what did you want out of all of this?" Regina asked.

"The ultimate power… Darkness. Control. It's what she's always wanted." Maleficent said.

Tinkerbell walked over to Maleficent. "Think about it, anything that could possibly make things better, she put a stop to. Why do you think she didn't want me to help Regina?"

"You were wasting your time anyway, clearly." Blue said.

"That's just one of many things. Do we really believe that she didn't know what havoc that would follow after giving Neal that magic bean?" Tinkerbell asked.

"All the time she's been _granting_ happy endings, she's really been the number one obstacle blocking them." Maleficent said.

Who can you trust when the head fairy in charge turns out to be the biggest villain of all?

-v-

Meanwhile, the children went to Mr. Gold's Pawn Shop. They found Andalasia balling her eyes out on the floor by that six foot wooden puppet a.k.a Pinocchio. Breaking the curse didn't make him a real man again. When the children, especially Salem and Haven saw this, they joined in Andalasia's heart break. Salem and Haven sat next to their mother on the floor in tears.

"Did you try kissing him?" Bae inquired.

"It didn't work." Andalasia cried.

Bae was told he could break any curse so maybe that meant he could save his uncle Nocchi. He closed his eyes and touched the puppet. After a few moments he opened one eye. Nothing.

"What the…" Bae was frustrated. Hope came over and took her brother's hand while leaning on his shoulder. Emery went over and touched his big brother, saddened by the fact that he was stuck in this state with the other hand resting on Bae's. They didn't even know yet that The Blue Fairy was not an option, though Snow always told them not to talk to her anyway because she didn't trust her. However, now that Bae, Emery and Hope were all touching each other with a hand on Pinocchio, something started to happen. They were glowing and Pinocchio flashed to his human form and then back to a puppet.

"What was that?" Roland was confused and startled, as was everyone else in the shop.

"Maybe we can do it together." Bae figured out.

"We're special too… Maybe the three of us are stronger together." Emery said.

"Powers are ruled by emotions and there's no emotion or magic stronger than-" Bae explained.

"Love." Emery and Hope finished the sentence.

They held hands. From left to right they stood, Emery, Bae then Hope. Emery and Hope touched Pinocchio as they all stood there with their eyes closed, letting the love for their uncle/brother flow through them. They began to glow again. Pinocchio flashed back and forth between puppet and human a few more times before they heard a gasp of air. The three of them opened their eyes. Pinocchio was a real man again.

"Nocchi!" Andalasia exclaimed as she threw her arms around her husband. "I thought I had lost you forever."

Salem and Haven joined their parents in the hug for a few moments.

"You saved me?" Pinocchio asked Bae, Emery and Hope.

"What would life be without my uncle Nocchi?" Hope asked.

"Yeah, I need my big brother." Emery stated.

"You helped save me from evil grandpa Peter Pan so I was finally able to pay you back." Bae said then the three of them hugged him.

"What did I miss?" Pinocchio asked.

"The curse is broken so everyone's out there trying to defeat the _Queens of Darkness_." Emery explained.

-v-

Back on Main Street, Blue was excited to finish executing her evil plan. She held up the hat she was carrying, The Apprentice's hat and waved her wand over it.

"What is she doing?" David questioned.

"Whatever it is, isn't good." Snow replied.

A dark fog rose out of the hat and began to spread making it look like night.

"Piper, freeze it!" Phoebe exclaimed but Piper was already trying.

"I can't!" Piper exclaimed.

It wasn't just dark fog, it was dark creatures; a giant gargoyle, black eyed beings, a dragur and demons of all kinds. These were some of the evilest beings to ever live which was why they were trapped in the hat. The dark fog began to cover the town. Everyone was nervous and afraid. How do you defeat this?

"Papa. We need you right now." Neal said to Rumple. He was still on the ground mourning Belle's death but if they were going to win this battle, they needed him.

Rumple stood to his feet.

"The only thing that can defeat darkness is light. In this case, a lot of it." Rumple informed.

"Only if you're strong enough." Blue Fairy said. She started walking away laughing.

"Where do we stand on killing evil fairies?" Emma questioned.

"This is my battle. I should've done this a long time ago." Maleficent said before she turned into a dragon. She hadn't done that in over a decade so that felt good. She headed right for Blue and breathed fire on her. That was the end of The Blue Fairy but that wasn't the end of this battle. They still had to get rid of these evil beings.

"Stay away from the black shadows, if they possess you, they won't leave freely." Rumple yelled. The black shadows were shaped liked humans, had no actual face but the eyes were apparent. They were The Black Eyed Beings.

Emma made bow and arrows appear to Snow, Robin and Tinkerbell and swords appear to David, Neal and Hook to help them fight.

"I am light, I am one too strong to fight, Return to dark where shadows dwell, And leave my sight, Now take with you this endless hell." Phoebe said a spell aloud, changing some of the words to fit the situation. Her sisters joined in chanting. "If you're a witch then say it with us!" Regina joined them in the chant while she and Emma held up their hands and used their strong light magic to fight the dark beings. Rumple and Wendy helped too.

Bae, Emery, Hope and Henry came over. Of course Pinocchio told to them not to leave the shop but look who their parents are, of course they weren't going to listen. The four of them had powers and they felt they could be of help. They were young, especially Hope and scared but they were brave. They got that honest too. Who could blame them? They were only living up to their family name.

The four held their hands up like Emma and Regina and let the power flow out of them as they fought off the darkness.

"What are you four doing? Go back!" Emma yelled.

"We can help! Just let us!" Bae exclaimed.

The Black Eyed Beings headed in the direction of the four. Who more fun to possess than the souls of innocent children?

Bae, Emery and Hope's souls repelled The Black Eyed Beings and the dark beings were killed automatically. Henry wasn't so lucky. His eyes turned all black and within a mere second, he lost all focus of defeating evil and turned his attention to his mother. He sent a ball of energy in Regina's direction, hitting her on the arm. She fell to the ground, her arm was bleeding. That was one less bit of strong power and someone helping to say the spell to defeat all this darkness. She was shocked and mortified, holding her arm as she looked at Henry.

"Regina!" Robin exclaimed. Henry threw him across the street. Now he was mortified and they were down an archer.

"The Black Eyed Being has him!" Rumple yelled.

Luckily, the darkness was lessening and there were only a few evil creatures left. They had to stop them before they effected everyone in the town. Though Regina was seriously hurt, she got back up and continued to help them. With all the power and light, they finally dispelled all the darkness… except for that Black Eyed Being still stuck in Henry. At this point he turned on everyone and they knew what was coming. He sent another energy ball toward Regina but Piper froze it. Regina moved out of its direction. She couldn't believe he kept picking on her first. Emma moved toward him, using her power to suck The Black Eyed Being out of him. That thing didn't want to leave willingly. It took all her energy to force it out of him. After a few minutes, it finally left Henry's body and they worked together to get rid of the thing for good. Henry was so weak after the possession he fell to the ground. They ran over to him.

"Henry!" Regina exclaimed. "Henry baby, wake up." She stroked his head and healed him. He gasped for air, his eyes were wide open.

"Mom!" Henry exclaimed. He sat up and hugged her.

"Okay. Now grandma, let me heal _you_ before _you_ pass out." Emma said.

Regina was so worried about Henry she almost forgot about her arm but yeah, things were getting a bit hazy. Emma went over and healed her.

"Are you okay?" Emma asked Regina.

"Yeah. Henry baby, what about you?" Regina answered quickly then turned her attention back to Henry. He just nodded.

"Can either of you do something about my back?" Robin asked. He was in serious pain after being flung across the street.

"I can try." Emma replied. Wounds and bruises were easy. Bones were a little trickier or Rumple would've gotten his leg healed a long time ago… but luckily that wasn't Robin's problem. She was able to heal his back.

"Good always wins." Bae stated.

Yet another battle between good and evil had ended and again, it proved that good will always be the stronger force…


	7. Home, Sweet Hope

Home, Sweet Hope

Now that the battle was over everyone else ran out to Main Street too. To her surprise, Lilo saw Stitch. Her eyes hadn't lit up like that for four years, she ran into his arms. On another note, as Jane ran out, she saw Belle's lifeless body lying on the ground and Rumple kneeling over her.

"Mom!" Jane ran to her mother with tears streaming down her face. "Nooo!" Rumple embraced his baby girl.

Everyone's heart broke for them. They loved Belle too but there was nothing like losing a spouse or mother.

Cruella and Ursula thought this a good time to sneak away since everyone seemed to be distracted by the fallen loved one but not so fast… Emma used her powers to stop them in their tracks and went over to them.

"Where do you two think you're going?" Emma questioned.

"Oh dear, just leaving you all to pathetically mourn over your little princess alone." Cruella said.

"Think again. We're going home and there's no way we're going to let you two roam freely." Emma said.

The Huntsman who was the sheriff in the town came over and handcuffed them. Then Emma went over to The Charmed Ones and Maleficent.

"Piper, Phoebe, Paige, Maleficent, thank you for all of your help. We couldn't have done it without you. We just need one last thing, a portal back home." Emma said.

"We can help you with that." Piper said then she and her sisters drew the biggest triquetra they've ever seen on the nearest wall and said a spell which opened a portal where the triquetra was.

"Everyone, calmly but quickly go through the portal home." David announced and people followed the instruction.

"Mal, I'll miss you. Sorry, you can't come home like you want." Emma said.

"It's okay. I'll be with my family. That's most important. I'm glad I was able to help you save yours." Maleficent replied.

"Well that's what a good fairy does right? Help give people their happy endings?" Emma responded.

"You just remember not to allow anyone else to make you question your good instincts. You wouldn't want to lose yourself and your mind like me and _grandma Regina._ "

"I hear you. Bye Mal."

It took a while for everyone to get through the portal. Neal picked up Belle's body and carried her. Regina was staring at Cora's body on the ground so Robin picked up Cora and carried her. All the evil she's ever done couldn't erase Regina's love for her. Of course, she absolutely hated what she just did but she herself had done worst. The royal family went last then the portal closed once everyone went through. The Charmed Ones and Maleficent went back to their lives.

-v-

Home, sweet home. It was a rough week for everyone. They just wanted their lives back but that one week created some damage in different ways for different people. It also took them years to physically get the Enchanted Forest back up to par after the first curse and now they have to fix it all over again. It looked like a tornado came through the land. It was a disaster. Hopefully, this ordeal won't cause the people of the kingdom to lose the peace they worked so hard to regain.

The mood was somber as the family and their beloved help entered the castle. Rumple had completely shut down at this point and Jane couldn't stop crying. Regina held her little sister in her arms. She looked at Rumple. Anyone could see he was beginning to disassociate but he needed to be present. He and Jane needed each other now more than ever.

"… Dad?" Regina called softly. It was the first thing that got his attention. It was the first time she called him "dad" outside of the curse but she didn't keep his attention for long. He quickly retreated into himself again. "We'll plan a proper ceremony for Belle."

"We're all here for you, both of you." Neal said.

Later, Regina sat alone by her apple tree. It was one of the things that wasn't totally destroyed in the curse but it hadn't been nurtured in a week so it wasn't at its best. She was retreating into herself too while she could, must be a family thing.

"I thought I'd fine you here." Snow said when she entered.

"How did you know?" Regina asked.

"I know you." Clearly. Snow sat next to her. "I know you're trying to be strong for everyone and you don't like to look vulnerable but…" Snow hugged her. "It's okay to cry."

"Why would I do that?"

"Because you lost your mother today and I know what that feels like."

"It should make you happy. If it's possible for Snow White to hate anyone, it would be Cora."

"How I feel about Cora is irrelevant right now. You love her and I love you."

As hard as Regina tried to hold back tears, a couple managed to fall anyway. Regina embraced the hug. She couldn't let herself fall apart. Her mother's death wasn't the only thing bothering her either but she had let it out a little if she was going to save face for everyone else. Robin could see through the façade but everyone else she could probably get away with fooling.

They held a parting ceremony for Belle. That night the entire kingdom lit candles in honor of her memory. She was loved by all and would be dearly missed. They named the kingdom's library after her and Pinocchio drew a big portrait of her to hang in the library's foyer. Rumple kept the ashes at his castle. He was still disassociated with reality so Jane stayed at the family's castle. Everyone was concerned about this living situation, having Jane separated from her father at this time but Rumple wouldn't even eat and hardly got out of bed. Wendy was looking after him until he got better but until then it was best for Jane to stay with the rest of the family.

Regina had a simple burial for Cora. She didn't make a big deal out of it and she knew that the family would be there just to be supportive but she didn't want them to have to do that so just Robin, Snow and Neal were there. She got a moment alone before it was all said and done.

"Mother, I love you. I always have. I wish you could've changed. I wish we could've really been a family but I guess it just wasn't meant to be. It's possible to be happy and have it all. I'm sorry you never got that but hopefully wherever you are, you've learned what true happiness is.

-v-

Emma had been a bit different since she's been back home. Everyone has that one event that changes them and this last curse was her event.

Snow and David found her in her room and both sat on the sides of her.

"What's going on with you?" Snow asked.

"I'll be fine. It's really not a big deal." Emma replied.

"Talk to us, princess." David said.

"There's nothing to talk about really. I just never really believed that I could save everyone. I'm so dependent on you all."

"You've always been independent, Emma. The main reason you would get in trouble as a kid is because you would run off on your own and do the opposite of what I would tell you to do. Yes, I know it's a trait you inherited from me but that's not the point. The problem is not that you're dependent on us, you just needed the confidence. You're a hero and you always have been." Snow said.

"Don't forget that." David added.

"It's always been easy for me to be good, to do the right thing, make the right choices but yet I came so close to actually killing someone. I couldn't think of a better solution?"

"We are all tested at some point. You were at your breaking point but you didn't do it. You stopped yourself." David said.

"But would I have done that if you all weren't there?"

"We didn't force you, ultimately, it was your decision. It just shows how strong you are. That was the hardest week of your life and you got through it. You're even stronger than you were before, even if you don't feel that way now." Snow said.

"Believe in yourself. You're not the savior because it was convenient, you're the savior because it's your destiny." David said.

"Am I really a savior? I've never saved anyone on my own. I'm the savior because of you two and because Rumplestiltskin decided I should be. I wouldn't even be able to break the curses without Bae."

"If it were that simple, anyone could have the title. We're all in it together but without you, we wouldn't have ever gotten our happy endings. We wouldn't be sitting here together right now." David repeated part of a speech he gave at her twenty-eighth birthday. He meant every word. She needed to be reminded.

Emma sighed. "I love you, mom and dad."

They hugged her. "We love you."

"And thank you for saving us." Snow said.

"Again." David added.

-v-

One early morning, Regina got up early and magically fixed the castle back to normal like she did before. Now she was in the kitchen zoned off in her own world sipping tea. Robin walked in and kissed her, bringing her back to reality.

"Good morning, my love. What's on your mind?" Robin asked as he sat next to her, hand resting on her thigh. There was no need to refute, he knew when something was bothering his wife.

"Just concerned about… Jane, Henry…"

"Why Henry? He's fine."

"He was possessed. An evil creature took over his body. He tried to kill me."

"Like you said, he was possessed."

"But why me?"

"He attacked me too."

"Why us? Why me first? Twice." Robin opened his mouth to speak. "Do not say he was possessed."

"He was!"

"Yes but The Dark Eyed Beings work by having you act on dark thoughts that are already in you. Everyone has them lingering somewhere."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying our son hates me. I told you I would get a kid that hates me. It's karma."

"You're paranoid."

"I am not!"

"I'm sure there's an explanation. You think he hates me too?"

"Maybe."

"What reason would he have to hate us? Every child in this house adores you. You're like their favorite person in the world. Other than that incident, we have no reason to believe that Henry has anything against us."

"He's my son so believe me, all types of crazy can be going on in his head and we would have no clue."

"I don't believe that."

"Oh really? Ask Snow and Leopold. Oh wait, you can't. I had him killed. He never saw it coming." She took a gulp of her tea.

"Our son loves us, Regina. He would never hurt you or anyone else."

"We say that now until he poisons one of the apples on my tree and gives it to me so I fall into a long sleep but that wouldn't last so maybe he'd go my mother's route. Then I'll suddenly die of a mysterious illness." She drank more of her tea. "You know, this really isn't strong enough." She poured herself some whiskey and started to drink but Robin took it before it touched her lips.

"Let's leave the habits from the curse in Storybrooke." Robin said. Regina sighed. "Remember you always said, evil isn't born. It's made."

"I don't know. Sometimes. Maybe. But maybe it's genetic or something, a psychological problem. When at least three generations of your family have _psychological breaks_ , for lack of better words, you start to wonder."

"We'll talk to him." He kissed her.

"Thank you." She kissed him again. "I think I'll go riding for a while." Regina changed into her riding clothes then went out to the stables where she found Snow getting ready to take her horse out.

"Snowbell." Regina said.

"Hey mom." Snow replied.

"Didn't expect to find you here."

"Yeah, riding is a good time to think."

"Yes it is!"

"I'll race you."

"Are you sure you want to light my competitive spirit?"

"Mine is already burning." Snow replied with sass. They hopped on their horses and raced across the yard. The race was close, they took turns leading but Snow won this one. "Good job Leo! You're getting faster boy!" Snow praised the horse.

"Don't get used to it." Regina said. They began to just stroll around the acres of land. "So what's bothering you?"

"Everyone seems to be bothered by something now, huh? It's just we worked so hard and so long to get the kingdom back to the way we knew it before. I never expected to have to do it again. It's sort of an overwhelming task. Is it me or does it look worst this time?"

"It's pretty bad."

"The castle looks great by the way." Snow referred to the fact that Regina changed it back to normal.

"I wish it was that simple to fix the kingdom but at least this time it's only physical. Before we had to regain everyone's trust and cut down the crime and a list of other things."

"So what are we going to do this time?"

"Last I checked, you were the reigning queen Snowbell."

"Ugh! I hate when you do that."

-v-

 _Two years ago, Regina found Snow overlooking the garden…_

" _We need to talk." Regina stated and sat across from Snow._

" _Okay…" Snow responded._

" _I think it's time you take the thrown as queen."_

" _Uh… You know, I think I'm good."_

" _What?"_

" _There's really no need for me to take the thrown now really."_

" _Yes it is because it's yours to have. You were supposed to be queen a really long time ago. I never really wanted it in the first place."_

" _Why does it matter? We're all in it together anyway."_

" _Yes but I do all the hard stuff. It's your time Snowbell."_

" _Snowbell? No, brat?"_

" _It was getting old but I'll go back to it if you keep debating me on why you shouldn't be queen. Why don't you want to be queen?"_

" _I just don't see the point." Snow gazed into the beautiful garden._

" _You don't believe you can do it." Regina realized. "Why? You've run the kingdom before. In fact, there was a time when you took it from me."_

" _For about a year and I didn't do that great of a job. You've been queen for what, half a century."_

" _Don't say it like that, you make me sound old as hell. Besides, I was a terrible one for most of it."_

" _Not because you weren't capable of being a good one. You've been a fantastic queen for the past twelve years."_

" _I wasn't in it alone and you won't be either. Believe in yourself Snow. You will be a wonderful queen, the queen you were always meant to be. Now I know it's easy to slip back into Doubtful Donnie territory but if I'm staying on the hope train, you can hop back on too. You like to lean on me and I guess in some ways, you've done that ever since I saved you from that horse. As a daughter, we're always wondering if we can ever be as good as our mothers. Can we live up to their legacy, their expectations? Will they be proud? Regardless of if it's me or_ _É_ _va, you can do all of those things. You can be better than us."_

" _I'm not getting out of this, am I?"_

" _Not at all… You and David will make a wonderful king and queen." Regina smiled and walked away._

-v-

Present…

Regina and Snow continued to ride their horses…

"You always ask me like you don't know what to do. You need to take some of the advice you gave to Emma." Regina said.

"We just work better together." Snow replied.

"You came up with most of the ideas the last time."

"We did that together! You, me and David. You said I wasn't in it alone remember. This is stressing me out. Have you looked at this kingdom lately?"

"We'll figure it out… Henry tells you things that he doesn't tell me right? I mean, you're his sister."

"Uh… I suppose. Why?"

"Does he hate me?"

"What? Doubt it. Where is this coming from? His being possessed? Mom, come on, he loves you. He used to boast about you all the time, "My mom's the prettiest. My mom's the smartest. My mom's the coolest."

"But he doesn't do that anymore."

"He's twelve now." Snow pointed out. "I know how the Black Eyed Beings work so I know what you're thinking but what pre-teenager doesn't have something against the people who have to tell them, "No," all the time?"

"You think I'm too strict?"

Snow shook her head. "No!"

"I'm not strict enough?"

"You need to get out of your head for a while. I don't think he really has anything against you but if he does just don't lose hope. Losing hope only makes things worst. Stay on hope train."

"Oh. Do you pick up that doubtful thing from me?"

"There's a good chance."

"I guess trying to kill you didn't help."

"I didn't want to say it but..." They laughed.

"Why do you let me have so much influence on you?"

Snow laughed. "You raised me. It kind of happened naturally. I didn't ask for it."

"I'm so sorry. I've got you all messed up." They laughed again.

-v-

Later, Regina and Robin went to talk to Henry in his room. It was all Regina could really think about. Meanwhile, she was trying to be there for Jane as well but this was just lingering over her head.

"Henry, you know we love you right?" Regina asked. He was reading a book and it must've been good because he didn't look up from it.

"Yes." He replied, still reading his book.

"We know what happened in Storybrooke was very traumatic but you can always talk to us about anything at all." Robin said.

"Kay."

"Do you need to talk about anything?" Robin asked.

"No."

Regina took the book from him. He didn't say anything and still didn't look at either of them but the annoyance on his face was apparent. "Are you angry with us for some reason?" She asked.

"… No."

Ugh! Still one syllable words! Let's just get to the point. "Do you hate us?" Regina asked.

"Regina!" Robin exclaimed.

"… No." Henry answered after a moment.

"Do you hate _me_?" She asked.

"… No."

"Can you give us more than one syllable? Look at me." Regina instructed. Henry didn't do it automatically. It was the slowest turning of the head and meeting of eyes in history. "We love you, Henry. There's nothing in the entire universe that could ever change that." She kissed his forehead then hugged him and Robin joined.

"We're going to go but we're always here and you have a castle full of family you can talk to at any time." Robin said before they left his room and closed the door behind them.

"He'll be fine." Robin said.

"He hesitated." Regina pointed out.

"I'm beginning to think you're only going to accept whatever idea is in your head."

"You're in denial. We can't afford denial. I don't want to believe it either but we need to stay on top of this or we can lose our son." Regina said.

-v-

Bae was in the family room finishing a painting of a pretty girl when David and Neal entered mid laugh.

"Hey Sport! You've gotten really good at that! No magic. Your uncle Pinocchio taught you well." Neal said.

"Thanks papa." Bae said.

"So who's the girl?" David inquired.

"That's definitely not Alexandra." Neal said.

"No. Her name is Vella. I met her when we were in New York."

"Oh!" David and Neal smiled. They wanted details. Bae told them all about her, smiling and eyes glistening with every word.

"The young lad has met a young lady, has he?" Hook entered the room.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be off with Tinkerbell somewhere?" David asked, something about the pirate still annoyed him for some reason.

"You see, since The Blue Fairy is gone, Tink got her wings back and she went back to fairy land to help reorganize things up there." Hook explained.

"You must be going through it." Neal joked.

"A little… She'll be back soon… I hope… Anyway son, I thought this a good time to make up for one of my past sins."

"We've already worked through our issues." Neal said.

"Not us. Ursula." Hook said. They were surprised but it made sense, sea witch, pirate… "She wasn't always a villain, unfortunately, I helped push her in that direction. I want to give her back her happy ending. Then maybe you all can let her go."

"I don't think that's a good idea." David said.

"All the woman wants to do is sing. Happy people don't have time to make other people miserable."

"He has a point." Neal said.

"So what's next, you're going to ask us to let Cruella go too?" David asked.

"No!" Bae exclaimed. "Now that would be a bad idea. She's just crazy. Her happy ending is killing people again and the last author took that ability away from her which means if she gets free and finds out I'm the author, she's coming after me."

"I guess she has life then." Neal said.

"What about Ursula?" David asked.

"She's a safe bet?" Bae assured.

"Good taste, lad." Hook said as he walked over to the painting.

"Thanks grandpa."

"If you ever need love advice, don't be afraid to ask." Hook said.

"I think he's good between me and grandpa Prince Charming." Neal said.

Hook's mouth was wide open. "Grandpa Killian doesn't get a say? That's cold." Hook said before he left.

"Look, we took these at the amusement park." Bae showed them a photobooth pictures.

Neal smiled. "You know your mom and I went to an amusement park for our first date, after a concert. At least you didn't have to break in."

"I know. It's the same one. Mom, told me… I'll be back." Bae left the room.

"Think he realizes he's in love?" Neal asked.

"Not yet." David replied. They smiled.

-v-

Emma walked past Regina's closet then stepped back and looked in. Hope and Nara were in there in fashion heaven, having a darn fashion show.

"Hope! What are you two doing in grandma's closet? You are going to get all of us in trouble!" Emma exclaimed.

"Uh… It was calling my name." Hope said.

"I just tagged along." Nara said.

Emma waved her hand to put Regina's stuff back in its place. Hopefully she didn't miss anything. "Let's go! Stay out of here!" The girls walked out of the fabulous wardrobe closet. A gown that Emma hadn't seen before caught her eye. "Ooh!" She got wide eyed and excited, totally distracted by the dress. "No. No." She turned back around left the room.

-v-

The Charmings all migrated to the family room.

"I for one, am so happy and grateful that we are all together again." Emma said.

"We shall never be apart again." Snow said.

"You know, Hope and I weren't cursed in Storybrooke." Emery informed.

"What do you mean?" Snow inquired.

"We were aware of everything the entire time." Emery replied.

"Just awful." Hope said.

"Wow. I'm sorry you guys had to stay there like that. There's no telling what powers you three have in store." Emma referred to Bae, Emery and Hope.

"Who was in my closet?" They heard Regina yell. Emma put her head in hand… Truth is, Regina knew exactly who it was. Hope was Snow's mini-me according to Regina. According to Snow, Hope was Regina's mini-me. Hope wanted to be just like Regina. When it came down to it, she was a blend of all the women she grew up around which made her sweet and dangerous in the best way, all at once.

Regina entered the room with two mini versions of a couple of her dresses.

"I promise I'll stay out of your closet from now on!" Hope said quickly.

"No you won't but I have rules." Regina said calmly. She knew Hope too well but she knew she meant it in the moment.

"Okay…" It wasn't the reaction Hope was expecting but she'd take it.

"These are for you two." Regina handed Hope and Nara a dress a piece.

"They're like yours!" Nara exclaimed.

"Our favorites. Thanks grandma!" Hope said and they hugged Regina.

"You mean, all I had to do was break into your closet?" Emma joked.

"Don't try it." Regina said.

"Wait, I've been plotting on a couple necklaces since I was ten. You don't even wear those anymore." Snow joked.

The family was finally starting to fall back into their routine and getting comfortable again. It would take a bit longer to bring the kingdom back up to par but it would happen over time. As long as they remained a strong family unit, the kingdom would be just as strong.

Things gradually got easier for Jane and Rumple. She was soon able to go back home but he still wasn't quite the same. Losing Belle was a hard blow to his heart but with eternal love all of them could get through anything…

* * *

 _Hope you enjoyed... There will be a part 3. It'll be the last part to the "Eternal Love" series. "Eternal Love III" will be up this weekend._


End file.
